Fastener for closures



W. LOUDEN.

FASTENER FOR CLOSURES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18, 1920.

1,385,563. Patented July 26, 1921.

. 2 SHEETS-SHEET I. ,6 l G. 1 /Q G W. LOUDEN.

FASTENER FOR CLOSURES.

APPLICATION man JUNE "8. 1920.

Patented J 111;; .6, 1921.

2 SHEET 3 -SHEET 2.

INVENTOR UNITED STATE? 5 PATENT OIFFIICE.

WILLIAM LOUDEN, or FAIRFIELD, IOWA, AssreNoR 'ro TRE LOUDEN MACHIhTERY COMPANY, or FAIRFIELD, IOWA, A CORPORATION or town.

' FASTENER roR oLosUREs. I

1,385,563. I I f I "A plication filed June 18,

Tofdll whom it mag concern: I I I [Be it known that I, WILLIAM LoUDnN, a

i citizen f the United States, residing at airfield, in" the county of Jefferson and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useiul Tinprovementin Fasteners for Closures, of which the following is a specificat1on;

My invention relates to closures whlch may be readily placed in an animalpen or in other structures to make a part tion n the structure, or for other, purposes, and which may be readily opened when occasion I requires, and. itconsists of a combination and arrangement of certain attachments applied to the closure hereinafter descrioed 'andspecific'ally set forth in the claims.

, .In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 1s a side elevation of a panel hinged to a top rail connected to the sides of a pen, so as to form a partition in the penan d showing the invention applied to an animal pen. Fig. 2

isa similar View of a panel set in between. the sides ofa pen and held in that position by readily releasable means. so as to form a partition in the pen and to be bodlly removed therefrom. Fig. 8 is an enlarged sideelevation of one of the fastening de vices. Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse sections on lines l4l and 5+-5 of Fig. Fig. 6 is 1 an enlarged detail view. Fig. 7 is a perspectiveof acentral portion of ananimal p en, showing the'panel of Fig.1 swung up' to the top of the pen and being held in said position by the fasteners contactingw th the top-railofthe pen. I

Referring to Fig. 1 ofthe drawings, A

represents posts on opposite sides of a central portion of a pen, Ba transverse section of top-rail connected to each post, and C a rail extending across and having its. ends connected to the top-rails B. The figure also shows a panel comprising top and bottom rails, D and D, side-rails E and a number oi' fillers F, the fillers in the sides of the penin Fig. 7 being represented by F. The top-rail D of the panelis connected to the cross-rail C by means'of hinge members G so that when released from connection withthe sidesof the pen it may be swung up level with the top-rails B, and be held in that position so as to virtually remove the partition and throw both sections of the pen into one as shown by Fig. ,7.

To hold the panel in position, either pivoted to the 1 920. Seria1,No.389,8'71.

closed or open, I use fasteners H which are side rails E and are adapted to engage the posts Aand to be disengaged therefrom. These. fasteners are composed of two sets'of members it, each having their ends set at substantiallyright angles, and paced a sufiicient distance apart to embrace the'posts A and side-rails E. The members 75 are joined together by brackets h bolted or riveted'together, asmost plainly shown in Fig. 5. These fasteners are placed astraddle oftheside rails of the panel and are pivoted thereto at I so that while one of-their ends will straddle the side rail E, the others will straddle the posts A. 7

To hold the fasteners. in this position, I place links or elongated rings J, (shown in Fig. 6), on theside-rails E above the fasteners and slip them down over the ends astraddle of said rails.- WVhenthis is done the panel will be held in place by. the ends of the members It straddling the posts A.

To release the panel all that is necessaryis to S11]? the ring J up above the ends of the members which straddle the side-rails, E, so the fastenersmay. be rotatedfon-their pivots and the ends straddling the posts A may be raised .sufiicientlyto release the-posts and permlt the panel to be swu-ng'on its hinges; I When this i done the panel may be swung up levelwith: the top rails B and the adjacent ends, of the locking devices may be placed astraddle of said top-rail. as shown in Fig, 7, and-byslipping the rings J over the adjacent ends of thefasteners, the panel willbe held stationary in this horizontal position and level with the top-rail 'B. in

this way small animals,.such as hogs and sheep will be free to pass under the panel from one end of the pen to the other.

To permit larger animals-topass freely from one endofthe pen to the other without making the pen higher than necessary, it is advisable that arrangements be made to bodily remove the partition. To accomplish this result, I remove the cross-rail C and hinges G and preferably make the panel the same: height as the sides of the pen, extending the si de-rails'E down so they will rest onthe floor. of the-pen, as shown in Fig. 2. When arranged in this way, it is necessary to use two sets of fasteners H, a set on each side applied to'the side-rails E near their upper and lower ends. When the fasteners are turned so their ends will straddle the I I gagement with the sides of the pen.

posts A and are held in this positionby the rings J, the panel will be held rigidly in enof the sides of the pen to which they mfiy be connected. The lower locking device at the right hand side of Fig. 2 is shown in this position and it also shows the ring J usedto hold the locking device in open position. When all the locking devices are in this position the panel may be removed to change the pen from two compartments into a single compartment, No tools are required except perhaps a hammer or a small bar to drive the rings upward or downward to release or to hold the locking devices in position on the side-rails E or E.

. Inthe drawings, inwardlly turned points K are shown on the ends of the fasteners which-tare desi ned to straddle and be held by the rings J on the side-rails E and E, when the fasteners H are in locked position. The objectof these inwardly turned points is to prevent the ends on which they are laced from passing beyond the rails E or t. In place of these points the brackets h which are riveted or bolted together might be used to secure the same result, but'if the nearest filler should be set quite close to the side-rail E or E5 the ends h might project out so far that they would come in contact with the nearest fillers, and in this event the fasteners H might be prevented from turning suflicientlyon their pivots to become disengaged from-the posts A.

Also, sometimes a sheet-iron filler is used instead: of the pipe fillers shown in the I drawing, and frequently the adjacent edges of this sheet-iron filler are set quite close to the side-rails E or E, and in such construction thebrackets h could not be used on that side of the fastener because they would come in contact with the edges of'the sheetiron filler. The inwardly projecting points K will prevent the ends of the fasteners from passing beyond the side-rails, and they willnot interfere with fillers which are materially thinner than the side-rails.

L represents the floor of the pen and M the curbs in which the posts A are set. In the form shown by Fig. 2 the lifting of the panel may be prevented by drilling holes N in the side-rail above'the upper holding devices and inserting pins in these holesfif under any circumstances this should be deemed advisable. The rings J'being placed on the side-rail cannot be lost or misplaced. The device is exceedingly simpleand effective in operation. These fasteners may be used in various ways, either in pairs, as shown by the drawing, or singly when the opposite side of the'closure' is'otherwise setherefrom by tremely simple and. inexpensive, and are effective and easily operated. 1 What I claim is:

,1. In fasteners'for closures a pair of members spaced in parallel relation'a distance apart, the ends of each member being disposed at substantially right angles to each other, in combination with a closure having a side rail straddled by the members and upon which they are pivoted at a point centrallybetween their outstanding endsyand" a fixed rail adjacent thereto and parallel with the side rail, whereby, as the fastener is turned on'its pivot, one set of its outstanding ends will be adapted to straddle said adjacent fixed rail, while the other set will be held astraddle of the side rail of theclosure to which it is pivoted, and the closure will beheld in fixed position untilthe members of the fastener'are turned on theirpivot.

to release their ends from the fixed rail.

2. In fasteners for closures, the combina tion of two or more fasteners, each comprising a pair of members spaced in parallel relation a distance apart, the ends of each member being dis osed at substantially right angles to each ot er,a closure having rails on opposite sides, each of which are straddled by one or more of the fasteners, and to which side rails the fasteners are pivoted at points centrally between the .outstanding ends of the spaced apart members comprising the fasteners, and fixed rails adjacent and parallel with the side rails and which the ends of the fasteners are also adapted to straddle, whereby the closure will be alternately held i'n'fixed position and be released turning the fasteners on their pivots. 3. In a device of the character described, a pair of members, spaced substantially in parallel relationa distance apart, and having their opposite ends disposed at substantially right angles to eachother, a closure having a side rail straddled by the members and upon whichthey are pivoted at a point centrally between their'outstanding ends, a

fixedv rail'adjaccnt to and parallel with the side rail of the closure, one set of the outstanding ends of the members being adapted to straddle the fixed rail and hold the closure in fixed relation and to be disengaged therefrom to release the closure, and a bracket on each of the members joined together at their outer ends, and assisting in holding the members in parallel relation. I l

4. In a device ofthe character described, a pair of members, spaced substantially in parallel relation a distance apart, and having their opposite ends disposed at substantially right angles to each other, a closure having a siderail straddled by' the members i and upon which they are pivoted at a point centrally between their outstanding ends, a

fixed rail adjacent to and parallel with the side rail of the closure, one set of the outstanding ends of the members being adapted to straddlethe fixed rail and hold the closure in fixed relation and to be disengaged therefrom to release the closure, a bracket on one end of each of the members joined together at their outer ends and assisting in holding the members in parallel relation, and inwardly projecting points on the other ends of the members preventing the ends of the members to which they are aflixed from passing by the side rail to which they are pivoted, but permitting their passage over narrower structures. I

5. In a device of the character described, a pair of members spaced substantially in parallel relation a distance apart, and havsiderail of the closure, one set of the out standing ends of the members being adapted to straddle the fixed rail and hold the closure in fixed relation and to be disengaged therefrom to release the closure, and a slip-ring on the side rail above the pivoted members adapted to-pass over the parallel ends of the members and hold them in fixed position while the other ends of the members are in engagement with the fixed rail.

Fairfield Iowa, June 16, 1920.

WILLIAM LOUDEN. 

